Severe Weather May Reach Recent Blizzard Areas Thursday

Some locations of the High Plains hit by the blizzard last week could be hit with severe thunderstorms Thursday.

The 1-4 feet of snow that fell on northwestern Nebraska, western South Dakota and eastern Wyoming less than a week ago with temperatures in the 20s and 30s has been melting rapidly this week with temperatures climbing into the 50s, 60s and even the 70s.

In many areas away from the mountains and hills, the snow will be gone by the time the next storm rolls in Thursday.

That storm has the potential to bring severe weather from western and central South Dakota, southward through western and central Nebraska, western Kansas to near the Oklahoma Panhandle, and perhaps neighboring areas of Wyoming and Colorado.

According to AccuWeather.com Severe Weather Expert Henry Margusity, "The storms are likely to hit late in the day Thursday into Thursday night with damaging wind gusts, hail and flash flooding being the major threats."

Cities that could be hit by the storms include Rapid City, S.D., Chadron, Neb., and Dodge City, Kan.

There is a slight chance of a couple of tornadoes being produced.

"Because the air will only be rather dry, odds are against a tornado outbreak," Margusity stated.

The storm will bring valley rain and mountain snow to part of the Rockies and Great Basin Wednesday night into Friday.

The storm will also usher in the chilliest air of the season so far to parts of the Southwest, including California, on gusty winds.